Exploring the Seasons
by katierosefun
Summary: Autumn, winter, spring and summer. Despite what people might think, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano has experienced multiple seasons and had their own little adventures in each one. [Friendship fluff.]


**Writing a new Clone Wars one-shot is certainly refreshing, especially since school is just around the corner. I'm dreading the day I become a freshman...(I've already started reviewing for school. ****_Gak._****) **

**However, what better way is there to get rid of back-to-school jitters than writing? And so, this story bloomed - I don't know ****_where _****or ****_when _****exactly this story takes place, but I'm guessing that the location of this story would be on a planet that resembles Earth and therefore has the same seasons. :) **

**Enjoy! **

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**Autumn**

Out of all of the seasons of the planets in the galaxy, Ahsoka Tano figured that she liked autumn the best. For one, many trees seemed to be decorated with leaves of scarlet red, tangy orange and warm yellow. Ahsoka just _loved_ looking at those beautiful trees – the leaves would all blend together into a wonderful, amazing mess and when the leaves would _fall _from the branches and create an entire new world.

And though Ahsoka hated to see the leaves fall from the trees, she equally adored the patterns they would make on the ground. The leaves would fly up in the autumn breeze and spin around ankles and shins of passing people.

Of course, there were also other joys to autumn – the brisk, cool air tinted with the smell of wood-smoke and petrichor, the promise of children starting a new year of school (which was associated with a few complaints), and the bundle of coats and scarves that came along in the weeks.

Lastly of all, one of the biggest joys of autumn was 'raking' the leaves with Anakin Skywalker, the worst chores-doer in the entire galaxy. (Senator Amidala had set the two to raking the leaves – Ahsoka heard her saying something about character-building and letting out some loose energy.)

"Ahsoka, you're supposed to be _cleaning _the leaves away, not studying them!" Anakin yelled over at Ahsoka as she held a leaf up to her face. She rolled her eyes and turned to her master, who was scooting the fallen leaves into a little pile. "Can't I take a break for two seconds?" She asked grouchily. "And look at the leaves – look at them!"

Anakin shook his head, scoffing, "You're as bad as Obi-Wan – always going on about _something_."

"What's so bad about being interested in this sort of stuff? See – there's these little veins in the leaf and –"

"Yada, yada, yada – for now, Snips, I think I'm just going to stick with actually _cleaning _these leaves away than getting distracted by Force-knows-what." Anakin replied, turning back to the leaf pile. Ahsoka bit down on her lip and puffed out an annoyed sigh. "Look at you, suddenly getting interested in chores." Ahsoka grumbled under her breath, though she bent down and started to rake away the leaves.

Slowly, gradually, the pile of leaves grew and the ground was cleaned up of any wandering leaves. Ahsoka finally pushed away her rake and stared down at the pile of leaves, her hands on her hips. "I think everything looks good." She announced as Anakin raked up the last of the leaves.

"Mm-hm," Anakin replied, looking back at the pile with a casual toss of his head. Ahsoka lifted an eye-marking. "What, do you think we need to clean this place up a bit more?" She asked quizzically. "Did we miss a spot?"

"No, no, you didn't miss a spot." Anakin replied and leaned against his rake. "I just think there's something missing from the picture." He tilted his head at Ahsoka, his eyes scanning her up and down with an odd expression on his face. (Ahsoka couldn't quite put it into words – Anakin looked strangely nonchalant. She could see his jaw jumping up and down, as if he was fighting the urge to smile. Knowing him, he probably was.)

"Is there something wrong?" Ahsoka asked, flapping a hand at the pile of leaves.

"Nope!" Anakin replied cheerfully, throwing his rake aside. "But..." He didn't get to finish his sentence as he quickly pushed Ahsoka into the leaves. The Togruta cried out in surprise as she kicked and flailed around the leaves. She could hear her master howling in laughter at her reaction and after a few more moments of confusion, Ahsoka popped her head out from the pile.

"Thanks a bunch, Skyguy!" She said in a low, deep growl, though the amusement in her eyes took away any signs of anger or indignance. Anakin flashed a grin at his apprentice and simply replied, "We'll have to bring the leaves together again."

Ahsoka nodded, flicking a leaf in Anakin's direction. "Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" She asked impishly and before her master could react, Ahsoka dragged him into the pile. Ahsoka giggled and laughed as Anakin let out a startled shout. Just as Ahsoka had done, Anakin took a few moments to get his bearings before poking his head out of the pile next to the Togruta.

"Not funny!" Anakin said indignantly as Ahsoka laughed harder than before. (Little did Anakin know that there were multiple leaves poking out of his head. He looked a bit like one of those woodland creatures that Ahsoka had seen in the last few days.)

"It _is_, though!" Ahsoka replied, kicking up a few leaves. "Besides, it was only payback for what you did!"

"Is that so?" Anakin asked, and, with a devilish smile, he created a mini tidal-wave of leaves in Ahsoka's direction. The younger girl squealed and immediately threw herself out of the leaf pile to avoid getting hit. In a flash, the autumn leaves that had been so carefully collected were thrown across the grounds, creating a possibly bigger mess than before.

Ahsoka and Anakin hadn't _meant _for such a mess to happen, either, though they were quickly set back into their rightful places as leaf-rakers when Senator Amidala came out to inspect their work.

**Winter**

Learning how to ice-skate was a tricky thing and Ahsoka only had Senator Riyo Chuchi to blame for dragging her into this. The Togruta wiggled her feet into the snug, small ice-skates and took a few wobbly steps out onto the iced pond before her, which was already filled with Pantorans and other species. (Sadly, everyone else seemed to be getting the hang of the ice-skates.)

_You would think that Jedi would be good at ice-skating, _Ahsoka thought bitterly to herself as she immediately fell to her feet when taking another step on the ice. She let out a long, annoyed breath as she pushed herself back to a (somewhat) standing position. She could already tell that it was going to be a long day.

And to add the non-existent cherry to the not-so-sundae-day, Ahsoka couldn't find Riyo anywhere. She was all alone in this Force-forsaken pond and was going to embarrass herself. _Sigh. _

Perhaps the Force was feeling particularly sympathetic (or devious) today, for just as Ahsoka's mind formed these thoughts, a familiar voice asked, "Are you going to go skating or what? You're sticking out like a sore thumb, just standing there by yourself."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes and turned around to face Anakin Skywalker, who was grinning and standing (perfectly still, Ahsoka might add,) on the ice behind her. "Since when did _you _get here?" She only asked. "I thought you were inside – you said skating was for girls, remember?"

Anakin shrugged his shoulders. "That's what I said, but Senator Chuchi told me to go out and give you some company. Apparently, she's being held up about something."

Ahsoka sighed and shook her head. "Well, gee, thanks." She muttered and turned back to the pond. "And for the record, I don't think I like ice-skating a whole ton. I can't seem to go anywhere without shaking or falling down."

Anakin grinned. "Aw, come on, Snips! You can't seriously say that already! Let's try again, shall we?" Without waiting for an answer, the older man grabbed Ahsoka's hands and led her out to the center of the pond. Ahsoka slipped and slid (naturally) but strangely enough, she managed to stay on her feet. She clung onto Anakin's hand pathetically, occasionally shooting humiliated, angry glares at any amused eyes.

When the two came to a stop, Ahsoka let go and immediately fell back on her back. She groaned, frustrated and her master's face quickly yanked her back to her feet. "It's not that bad, Snips – you know how to keep your balance. Out here, it's not really much different."

"Yeah, but I'm wearing _ice-skates!_" Ahsoka whined, jabbing an annoyed finger at her feet. "These make it harder to do anything!"

"Not true." Anakin replied loftily, gliding around Ahsoka with a smug smile on his face. "See? Easy!"

Ahsoka pouted and crossed her arms. "You said that ice-skating was for girls – and you seem to be just _fine _out here." She said haughtily, causing her master to roll his eyes. "Whatever, Snips – you're just annoyed that I'm better than you at this stuff." Anakin said airily.

"Ha! Yeah, right!" Ahsoka retorted, giving her master a small shove. To her great delight, Anakin fell back on the ice with a small _thud_ and "oomph!"

Giggling, Ahsoka leaned down to look at her master. "Looks like you're not so good at keeping your balance, after all!" She said brightly at Anakin's obvious discomfort. He narrowed his eyes up at Ahsoka and shot back, "You _pushed _me! I think I have a valid reason for being on the ground!"

Ahsoka let out a laugh and managed to glide back a few ways to avoid her master. "Yes, but you should have been _focused!_ Never let your guard down, remember?"

"Since when were _you _the teacher?" Anakin grumbled.

"Since you fell!" Ahsoka replied lightly and feeling a bit more confident in herself, Ahsoka pushed herself on the ice a bit faster. (And she didn't fall! It's a miracle!)

"Look at that, Master!" Ahsoka grinned, turning around to face the older man. "I'm on the ice! And I'm perfectly fine!"

Anakin didn't seem rather impressed, which Ahsoka figured could only happen after being temporarily embarrassed. "Great. Woo-hoo," Anakin replied sarcastically, crossing his arms. "Looks like you're having the time of your life, Snips."

"You don't have to be all huffy and mean about it." Ahsoka replied in a sing-song voice, skating around her master, though her happiness was short-lived. Within a second, Ahsoka was back on the ground, sliding over the ice on her stomach and muttering expletives under her breath at it all.

A wide smile filled Anakin's face. "What was that about letting your guard down?" He asked in a mockingly sweet voice. Ahsoka shot him an annoyed, cold look before getting up to her feet. "Whatever, Skyguy." She muttered, though her lekku stripes were beginning to darken in humility.

Anakin smirked (ugh) and slid smoothly down the ice. Perhaps he was experiencing bad luck at that moment, because just like Ahsoka, he, too, ended up tripping over his skates. This naturally produced a burst of laughter from Ahsoka.

It didn't take too long for the two to automatically begin tripping each other up – trying hard to make the other lose his/her focus created _quite _a racket, too, and a few dirty looks were thrown in Anakin and Ahsoka's direction, though they were both too absorbed in their little contest to pay attention or care.

The ice pond was quickly emptied during Anakin and Ahsoka's little spat as a result, too, until it came to a point where they were the only ones there. Still, they continued their game.

"Ow – I'm gonna have a hundred bruises there tomorrow, Snips!" Anakin shouted as his apprentice tripped him again. "And if my leg breaks, I'm blaming _you!_"

"You're not exactly innocent either, Skyguy!" Was Ahsoka's retort as she pushed herself away. "I'm sporting a bunch of bruises all over my stomach! I'm gonna be green and blue and purple with all of this!"

Anakin sighed tiredly as Ahsoka was thrown back to the ground. "I'm cold and miserable, Snips!" He whined. "Do you just wanna go inside now?"

Ahsoka paused, mulling that concept over. She took a quick glance down at her body, which felt sorer than ever, and then back at Anakin. She managed a small nod and slowly brought herself back to her feet. "A break would be nice." Ahsoka said quietly and the two started to make their way out of the pond.

However, just as the two reached the edge, they both tripped and fell back to the ice.

"Um…is now a bad time?" Ahsoka heard Riyo ask slowly from above. She let out a low moan and looked up at her friend, who was (finally) standing beside the pond, her feet already tucked into a pair of skates. Ahsoka brought her forehead to the ice and mumbled, "I'm never going ice-skating again."

"Ah," was Riyo's only reply. "Er…were you two going to go inside?"

"Yes." Anakin mumbled, sounding as equally fed-up and worn out as Ahsoka.

Riyo cleared her throat and offered her hands to the two. "Well, it's warm inside – and I've got hot chocolate inside. We could watch a film instead." She said gently. Ahsoka lifted her head and took her friend's hand with a grateful smile. "That sounds perfect." She replied happily. "No more ice-time for any of us, right, Skyguy?"

Anakin pushed himself out of the pond and groaned. "Yup," he replied, stretching out his arms. "Going inside sounds great."

**Spring**

A light, warm breeze pushed past Ahsoka's legs, causing her to smile in delight. She threw her hands up in the air, catching more of the wonderfully silky spring wind. Ahsoka kicked her boots off and started to climb a tree, the sun filtering through the bright green leaves above. She didn't stop climbing until she came to a satisfyingly high branch, her legs swinging from it as though she was a child of two braids.

Spring was in full bloom – flowers were blossoming all around the ground and the entire place was buzzing with the energy of waking creatures from the winter.

"Ahsoka! Come on!" A loud voice shouted from below the tree. Ahsoka sighed and looked down at her master, who was staring up at her with crossed arms. "Just because it's spring doesn't mean that you can run off and skip training." He said sternly.

Ahsoka groaned and kicked herself back against the tree-trunk. She had heard her master complaining about her newly refreshed attitude to Senator Amidala since spring came.

"She has spring fever, Anakin," Ahsoka had heard Padmé replying to Anakin. "She's been cooped up inside for too long in the winter and since it's spring, she's going to want to run around."

It seemed that Anakin didn't really pay attention to Padmé's words of wisdom, though, for he hadn't stopped bothering Ahsoka about training for days. Now, Ahsoka waited patiently for Anakin to climb up the tree. She kicked her legs up and down as he started to make his way up the branches.

"Ahsoka, I know you want to play around, but right now, I just want you to – whoa!" Anakin was quickly cut off as he slipped off his branch. Ahsoka grinned as he re-adjusted his grip on the branch and flinging himself to a proper sitting position.

"Just a few more minutes to appreciate this, Skyguy, and then I'll go back to the boring training session." Ahsoka said, slipping off the branch so she'd be hanging upside down. She brought her arms down and grinned down at her master. "And just feel this – it's spring! A time for happiness!"

Anakin rolled his eyes. "This spring stuff is making you think like one of those girls from the holovids, Snips." He stuck out his tongue. Ahsoka snorted and simply punched Anakin as she swung herself back on the branch.

The two fell silent as another breeze ran through the leaves.

"Just a few more minutes?" Ahsoka asked after some time.

There was another pause. And then,

"Just a few more minutes."

**Summer**

"It's _hot_," Anakin moaned as Ahsoka remained as still as ever on the sandy part of the beach. Ahsoka watched as her master started to splash some water around. "You _know _it's hot and the water is _cold _and…why are you still _standing there?!_"

Ahsoka let out an annoyed sigh. "We discussed this before, Skyguy!" She replied indignantly. "I do _not _want to get in the water and you _know _how I don't like the beach!"

"What's there not to like?" Anakin asked, ducking his head into the water and re-surfacing only moments later. He grabbed a bit of kelp and flung it at Ahsoka, who ducked nimbly out of the way. Anakin rolled his eyes and ran out of the water. "Come _on_, Snips!" He shouted and dragged the poor girl into the water.

"Not nice! Gah! Cold water! Cold water!_ Cold!_" Ahsoka shrieked, immediately kicking her legs to keep herself warm. Anakin grinned. "That's the _point_, Snips! It's warm out – best way to get rid of it is to get into cold water!" He said enthusiastically, creating a little wave of water to fly for Ahsoka.

The Togruta shivered and quickly swam out of the way to avoid any of Anakin's pesky splashes. "A warning would have been nice!" Ahsoka grumbled, wrapping her wet arms around her even wetter torso. Anakin smirked. "If I gave you a warning, you wouldn't have ever come in here!"

Ahsoka simply rolled her eyes and retorted, "This has been the _second _time you dragged me into the beach! And my opinion still hasn't changed on it!"

Anakin clapped a hand over Ahsoka's mouth. "_Sh_, Snips! Just enjoy the water! Enjoy the day! Enjoy _summer!_ After, we'll look for something else to do – but right now, just _try _to like the water, alright?" He asked, his eyes shining with glee. Ahsoka took one look at her master and puffed out a sigh. The look on his face resembled one of a hopeful, little child.

Ahsoka paused and halfheartedly splashed at the water. "There's no talking you out of this, is there?" She asked hopelessly. Anakin grinned sheepishly. "Nope!"

Ahsoka sighed and flicked some water in Anakin's direction. "Fine – one day of the beach." She said grudgingly, earning herself a series of cheers and laughs from her master.

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**A/N - The first ever Clone Wars story I've written was _I Hate the Beach _in which Anakin drags Ahsoka to the beach. XD It felt nice to re-visit that idea. [I'm a sucker for nostalgia, as I'm sure others are.]**

**Reviews are always great! Constructive criticism is allowed, but flames are not! **


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